Commander's Notes
by Marine3950
Summary: A series of one-shots detailing some of the mechanics found in game from the point of view of the Commanders.
1. Chapter 1

**UEF Commander's Notes on Activating limited AI programming in individual units and defenses**

The battlefield is hectic. For the first few minutes after warping into a location, it's possible to micromanage single units at a time. However, once the battlefield reaches a point where you're executing several different assaults simultaneously, often while coordinating those assaults with allied commanders, it helps to be able to lessen the number of tasks on the list. To that end, all of our robotic warriors, from the Mech Marine Light Assault Bot to the Fat Boy Mobile Factory, have a built-in system for gaining combat experience.

Each time a unit confirms a kill, it records the diagnostic information in the unit leading up to the kill, and stores it in a memory bank on-board the unit, ranging from the target type to the weapon used in the kill to range and number of rounds fired. All of this information is stored on-board, and when enough is accumulated, the unit gains a slightly larger degree of autonomy. Not enough to have it gallivanting off across the battlefield on its own, but enough to make it more efficient in combat. Placing shots better, slight deviations in maneuvering to make it harder to take a hit.

However, trials showed that, despite the near-uniformity of each individual unit of the same type, the fact that they are created under battlefield ( conditions means that there is enough of a difference in each individual unit of the same type, be it two Snoops or two Summits, that the information cannot be reliably transferred between them.


	2. Chapter 2

**Cybran Commander's Notes on Destruction of standing infrastructure and units upon removal of ACU command signal**

In combat, information is key. The more you can get, the better off you are. The more you can deny your enemy, the worse off they are. The worst thing to happen on the battlefield is if an enemy gets a hold of any of your tech. A combat unit isn't quite as large of a loss, as it can always be destroyed in the battle. An engineer or a factory, on the other hand, is much more significant. UEF or Aeon with our technology would prove disastrous. At best, they know the weak points of that one unit type. At worst, they discover a way to incorporate the unit's technology into their own units.

To prevent this disaster from happening easily, all units and structures are programmed to self-destruct should they stop receiving a command signal from an ACU or, in some cases, an sACU. The most obvious reason for the termination of this signal would be if the battle turned south and the ACU cooked off under enemy fire. This prevents the enemy from taking advantage of the loss of command input from the ACU or sACU and easily snagging technology. However, it is also possible that the commander was victorious, and had to move out quickly, without having a chance to reclaim the forces. This way, the commander doesn't have to worry about his troops being captured by an enemy. He can focus on the next fight.

Incidentally, this is the reason that no technology can be obtained from units or buildings destroyed in combat. When destroyed, the remaining "suicide charges" detonate, destroying any potentially useful information that the enemy could have gleaned, leaving nothing but a charred hulk.


	3. Chapter 3

**Aeon Commander's comments on reclamation of wrecks underwater**

Reclamation of wrecks on the battlefield has always been an important part of managing a functional battlefield economy. Not only does reclaiming wrecks boost your own resources, it also denies the enemy potential resources. At the very least, it enables a commander to recycle the materials of his destroyed forces to rebuild them. At best, it provides a boost to Mass stores by reclaiming the wrecks of enemy forces, essentially turning their own resources against them.

Given how important it is to a battlefield Commander to reclaim wrecks on the battlefield, it comes as a surprise that, for a very long time, it was impossible for Commanders to exploit a type of wreck that is very mass-rich: Ships.

From frigates to battleships, combat vessels are extremely mass-intensive to create, and when destroyed, leave behind a large amount of mass. However, despite all of the advances in technology leading up to the Infinity War, and throughout, one problem could never be solved: transfer of mass through water to storage facilities. The problem is density. Water is about a thousand times denser than air, give or take, and the energy to move mass through a fluid material rises according to how dense the fluid is. Therefore, until additional technological advances were made after the Infinity War came to a close, reclamation of wrecks underwater was too energy-intensive to be considered viable.


	4. Chapter 4

**UEF Commander's comments on Fuel and ammunition in the field**

Since the dawn of military activities on Earth, armies have had three needs to conduct their trade: put simply, boys, bullets, and beans. That is to say, soldiers to fight, weapons to fight with, and supplies to keep the army in fighting shape. Originally this was as simple as handing a tribal warrior a spear or bow and some rations. However, as the technology of war progressed, so did these needs.

Armored vehicles would need several different kinds of ammunition, in addition to fuel and spare parts. Aircraft needed bases to operate from, ammunition, bombs, missiles. Troops on the ground eventually carried the equivalent of another soldier in packs on their backs.

The solution came with the advent of FTL travel. Early starships capable of FTL travel utilized a system of Thermal Redirection, which, when combined with Mass Fabrication technology, enabled starships to utilize the otherwise-wasted thermal energy to create additional fuel. Eventually, these systems were downsized and used with aircraft, armored vehicles, ships, and, while they were still a mainstay in military operations, foot soldiers.

This advance is most noticeable in aircraft, which create and store additional fuel when not in use. For the first part of their flight, they are able to reach top speeds, and afterward, their fabricators keep them in the air almost indefinitely, with both fuel and ammunition being manufactured midair.

However, these processes cannot be applied reliably to self-repair systems, at least initially. With additional time in combat, AI programs can distinguish when they are not in heavy combat, and can reroute their fabricators to repairs. Additionally, aircraft fabricators, in order to facilitate flight, are somewhat limited compared to those mounted on ships and ground vehicles. By linking up with Air Resupply Pads on the ground, however, they can quickly repair and refuel, and get back into the fight.


	5. Chapter 5

**Aeon commander on the losses incurred during the Infinity War**

It is regrettable that, during the Infinity War, billions of lives were lost across hundreds of worlds. However, even accounting for the thousand years that this war has been fought, thanks to the primarily robotic nature of the armed forces used by the three primary sides, only about half of a million of these casualties were military personnel.

The remainder of these deaths are, regrettably, civilian casualties. People caught in the cross-fire between factions fighting for dominance. Many commanders, even among my own Illuminate, have taken to referring to these losses as "collateral damage." They lessen it to an inevitability, something that will always happen, and the prevention of which becomes a back-seat concern compared to other operational needs.

Entire worlds, once holding life in abundance, were stripped bare by combat for their resources, or for their value as Gate worlds. While war will never truly come to a close, I pray that such negligent disregard for civilian life will come to an end.


End file.
